Minnesota's Kevin Love acknowledges the crowd after achieving his 51st consecutive double-double during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center in Minneapolis on Monday March 7, 2011 (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

PORTLAND, OR - CIRCA 1994: Christian Laettner #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on against the Portland Trailblazers circa 1994 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1994 NBAE (Photo by Brian Drake/NBAE via Getty Images)

Wally Szczerbiak raises his arms in celebration after teammate Anthony Peeler's three-point shot late in the fourth quarter giving the Wolves a comfortable lead over the Spurs. Wally had 18 points in the game.

PHOENIX - FEBRUARY 11: Isaiah Rider #34 of Minnesota Timberwolves attempts a dunk during the 1995 Slam Dunk Contest on February 11, 1995 at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1995 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Minnesota Timberwolves' Ndudi Ebi ties his shoes during a timeout while playing the Milwaukee Bucks' ZWednesday night during 7th game of the preseason. sel

The Timberwolves are preparing for their 25th NBA draft. A landmark moment? It would be easier to call it historical if most of their other 24 attempts didn’t border on hysterical.

Outside of landing franchise players Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love (and the latter actually came in a draft-night trade), the Timberwolves generally have fared so poorly that even disappointments such as Christian Laettner and J.R. Rider were among their better selections.

In honor of Thursday being No. 25, we rated the Timberwolves’ performance in their first 24 drafts. We didn’t judge solely by the players they took; we took into account where the Wolves were selecting, which players they bypassed and other extenuating circumstances.

1. 1995: No. 5 Kevin Garnett, No. 48 Mark Davis, No. 49 Jerome Allen

Best player in franchise history. Future hall of famer. First prep player to go straight to the NBA to become a superstar. ‘Nuff said. The Wolves never make it to eight straight playoffs, including the 2004 Western Conference finals, without Garnett, the only player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for six straight seasons. Larry Bird did it five straight seasons. Who cares if Davis and Allen each played just one season in Minnesota?

Best draft since the Joe Smith free-agent scandal that cost the Wolves three first-round picks in the early 2000s. Love and Pekovic are two-thirds of the team’s starting frontcourt. Love is arguably the best power forward in the game when healthy. Who can forget the 2010-11 season, when he had the longest streak for consecutive games (53) with double figures in points and rebounds since 1973-74? Pekovic has become a solid inside presence (16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds last season) after taking two years to arrive from Europe. If the Wolves had drafted Chalmers for themselves, he could have been their point guard. Or the Wolves could have drafted DeAndre Jordan (No. 35) or Omer Asik (No. 36). Jordan starts at center for the Los Angeles Clippers. Asik starts at center for the Houston Rockets.

Despite being a major disappointment, Laettner still was good enough for this draft to be ranked in the top three. That says everything about the Wolves’ drafts over the years. Imagine how the team’s history would have changed had it landed top pick Shaquille O’Neal or No. 2 Alonzo Mourning. The Wolves had the best chance to win the lottery after finishing with the league’s worst record in 1991-92. Laettner never lived up to the high expectations befitting the only college player on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team after a memorable Duke career. Still, he averaged a respectable 17 points and eight rebounds in four seasons at Minnesota. Maxey and Smith were reserves for the Wolves.

Szczerbiak spent seven seasons with the Wolves and made the all-star team in 2001-02. He is the third-leading scorer in franchise history (6,777 points) and ranks second in three-point field goals (343) and three-point percentage (.404). The Avery pick was one of the worst in team history, and it kept this draft from ranking in the top three. Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) was drafted two spots behind Avery, who played just three NBA seasons. Bullock never played a game in the NBA.

5. 1993: No. 5 Isaiah “J.R.” Rider, No. 29 Sherron Mills

One of the Wolves’ most memorable draft-night moments came when Rider predicted he’d win the dunk contest, which he did with his classic East Bay Funk dunk. Rider averaged 18.8 points per game in three seasons in Minnesota. Off-court troubles and selfish play kept him from living up to his potential. But he made his mark on the franchise with his cockiness and highlight-reel slams. Mills never played a game. Just think if Minnesota had picked 7-foot-7 Gheorghe Muresan instead; at least we might have seen Billy Crystal at Timberwolves games to watch his “My Giant” co-star.

Richardson was the franchise’s first draft selection. For three seasons in Minnesota, he averaged 15 points and eight assists while starting 212 games. Still, Minnesota could have drafted Nick Anderson, Mookie Blaylock, Tim Hardaway or Shawn Kemp, all of whom were selected after Richardson in the first round. West was a quality second-round pick. He averaged 10 points and started 371 games in nine seasons with the Wolves. Leonard, who was drafted two picks ahead of future Portland star Cliff Robinson, scored 32 points in 22 games for the Wolves.

7. 1996: No. 5 Ray Allen (traded as part of a conditional pre-draft deal to Milwaukee Bucks for No. 4 Stephon Marbury and future first-round pick, which the Wolves later got back and became Rasho Nesterovic in 1998)

This was supposed to be the trade that would make the Wolves championship contenders for a decade. Garnett and Marbury could have been the next Karl Malone and John Stockton. But they weren’t BFFs. Garnett got the big contract. Marbury wanted the spotlight. He was traded to New Jersey in 1999. The Wolves probably would have been better off with Allen, who became an all-star and the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shooter. But Marbury still averaged 16.9 points and 8.3 assists in Minnesota while helping the team to two playoff appearances.

It is tempting to call this one of the worst drafts in team history. The Wolves squandered the opportunity to transform the franchise, with two of the top six picks and two other first-rounders. But that just shows again how bad the rest of the drafts were and the value of Rubio. Former Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn’s legacy will be trading so he could get Rubio and then drafting point guards with his first three picks, even though the last was for another team. Flynn was an all-time head-scratcher. The Wolves passed on Steph Curry, who was an all-star this season with Golden State and the outside shooter Minnesota still craves. Lawson was drafted for Denver for a first-round pick that was used to get Martell Webster in 2010; Lawson has been more consistent and productive than either Rubio or Flynn, while Webster was hurt much of his time with the Wolves. Ellington was a decent reserve but didn’t last, much like Flynn. Norel has never left Europe. Kahn had to wait two years for Rubio, who still saves this draft because he’s a potential all-star and a marketing gem.

9. 2006: No. 6 Brandon Roy (drafted for Portland in a last-minute trade for No. 7 Randy Foye and cash), No. 36 Craig Smith, No. 37 Bobby Jones (drafted for Philadelphia as part of a trade for cash and a 2007 second-round pick that ended up being Chris Richard), No. 57 Loukas Mavrokefalidis

In hindsight, this looks like one of former Wolves executive Kevin McHale’s biggest failures. Foye over Roy didn’t seem like a monumental mistake at the time because Foye was coming off a huge NCAA tournament. Roy became a perennial all-star before his knees broke down. Foye became basically a backup point guard and decent scorer whose greatest value came when the Wolves were able to trade him and Mike Miller for the pick that ended up being Rubio. Smith was an effective undersized power forward for a few years. Mavrokefalidis never left Europe.

Williams showed NBA superstar potential when he dominated Duke in the NCAA tournament but was a bust as a rookie. He improved his scoring average from 8.8 to 12.0 points per game last season, eliciting hope he can keep improving — or be used as trade bait with the No. 9 overall pick in the upcoming draft. The Motiejunas-Flynn trade was one of a series of draft-day deals for the Wolves that saw them take (for themselves and others) and lose Motiejunas, Chandler Parsons (Houston’s’ second-leading scorer this season), Norris Cole (Miami’s backup point guard) and Nikola Mirotic (MVP of ACB Spanish League this year).

11. 1998: No. 17 Rasho Nesterovic, No. 46 Andrae Patterson

Nesterovic was arguably the best center in Wolves history before Pekovic, which says a lot about the franchise. The Timberwolves actually traded away that pick in the Marbury-Allen deal but later got it back. Nesterovic averaged a career-best 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in 2002-03.The Wolves went 51-31 that season, the second-best record in team history. Patterson played in just 40 games.

12. 1994: No. 4 Donyell Marshall, No. 30 Howard Eisley

Marshall played in just 40 games for the Wolves in his rookie season before being traded to Golden State for Tom Gugliotta, who became an all-star in Minnesota. Both had solid NBA careers, but the Wolves lost Gugliotta to free agency after the 1997-98 season when he exercised an opt-out clause. Eisley started four games his rookie season before being traded to San Antonio.

13. 2005: No. 14 Rashad McCants, No. 47 Bracey Wright

McCants ranks among the biggest flameouts from North Carolina, with Joe Forte (picked 21st in 2001) and Sean May (drafted one spot ahead of McCants in 2005). McCants did have one solid season with the Wolves (14.9 points while shooting 41 percent from three-point range in 2007-08). He was traded to the Sacramento Kings in 2008-09, but that ended up being his last season in the NBA because of injuries and personal issues. All-stars Danny Granger (No. 17) and David Lee (No. 30) were selected in the first round after McCants. Wright played just two seasons in the NBA with the Wolves.

14. 2007: No. 7 Corey Brewer, No. 41 Chris Richard

McHale liked what he saw in two members of the Florida team that won back-to-back national championships. But he ended up picking the wrong two ex-Gators. The Wolves had no chance at Al Horford, who was selected at No. 5 by Atlanta. But they missed on Joakim Noah (drafted No. 9 by Chicago), who has developed into a consistent double-double threat for the Bulls. Brewer’s best season came in 2009-10 when he averaged 13.0 points while starting all 82 games. But Minnesota traded Brewer late in the following season for Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry. Richard’s NBA career lasted 70 games in two seasons (one with the Wolves). Future all-star center Marc Gasol was drafted seven spots later in the second round at No. 48.

15. 1990: No. 6 Felton Spencer, No. 20 Gerald Glass

It was the first time in franchise history the Wolves had two first-round picks. Spencer started at center more than half the time as a rookie and earned second-team all-rookie honors after averaging 7.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. But the Wolves still thought they needed another center in the following draft and picked Luc Longley. Glass averaged a surprising 11.5 points while starting 45 games his second season, but his career lasted just two more seasons.

Here was another draft that led to Kahn’s demise. Johnson was supposed to fill Minnesota’s outside shooting needs. But he shot 40 percent from the field and averaged 7.7 points per game over two seasons. The Wolves traded Johnson to Phoenix in July 2012 as part of a three-team deal. Minnesota basically used the rest of the draft to select players for other teams, but it resulted in nothing to help the franchise move forward, considering Webster’s injury issues.

17. 2001: No. 45 Loren Woods

The 2001 draft was the first of three (including 2002 and 2004) in which the Wolves lost their first-round pick as a punishment for breaking salary-cap rules in signing Joe Smith. Woods was the best player taken during that period but basically was a serviceable reserve center in his two seasons with Minnesota, averaging 1.8 and 2.1 points per game. He played a combined four more seasons with three other teams.

18. 2000: No. 51 Igor Rakocevic

The Wolves had no first-round pick because it was part of a three-team deal that gave them Bobby Jackson and Dean Garrett from Denver in 1999. Rakocevic, a Serbian combo guard, couldn’t join the Wolves for two years. He wasn’t worth the wait. He averaged just 1.9 points and 0.8 assists in 42 games for Minnesota in 2002-03 before being released. Jackson had two of his least-productive seasons with the Timberwolves, and Garrett was OK in his second go-round with Minnesota.

19. 2012: No. 58 Robbie Hummel

Minnesota finally paid up the first-round pick that was part of the trade to the L.A. Clippers with Sam Cassell for Lionel Chalmers and Marko Jaric in 2005. Jaric was no Cassell, and it was a deal that kept haunting the Wolves. Just when they were trying to rebuild (again), they had to give up a lottery pick. Hummel was a first-round talent before suffering two anterior cruciate ligament injuries in his five seasons at Purdue. He didn’t make the team last season but might be back for summer league this year.

20. 2004: No. 59 Blake Stepp

This was the last first-round pick lost because of the Joe Smith mess. Stepp was no John Stockton, but he had a great career at Gonzaga. He played in some preseason games with the Wolves but didn’t make the regular-season roster.

21. 2002: No. 52 Marcus Taylor

This was the second draft without a first-round pick because of the Joe Smith deal. Taylor led Michigan State to a Final Four as a freshman. He led the Big Ten in scoring and assists as a sophomore. But one more season under Spartans coach Tom Izzo could have been huge for his development. He never played for the Wolves.

22. 1991: No. 7 Luc Longley, No. 34 Myron Brown

Longley won three NBA titles with Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls teams in the late 1990s, but he was at the center of a controversy when entering the NBA. The Wolves drafted him after selecting Felton Spencer with the sixth pick the previous year (former Gopher Randy Breuer also was competing for a starting center spot). So Longley and his agent held out and didn’t sign with the team until after the season started. The 7-2 Australian eventually got traded after three modest seasons to Chicago for Stacey King. Brown’s career lasted four games in Minnesota.

23. 1997: No. 20 Paul Grant, No. 43 Gordon Malone

Grant, a 7-footer from the University of Wisconsin, played the fewest career games (16) and had the lowest scoring career average (1.8 points) of any player drafted in the first round in 1997. After missing his entire rookie season because of a foot injury, he played in just four games with the Wolves in 1998-99 before being involved in a three-way trade (that included Stephon Marbury) with the Bucks and Nets. Former Gophers star Bobby Jackson and Jacque Vaughn were drafted after Grant. Malone never played a game in the NBA.

24. 2003: No. 26 Ndudi Ebi, No. 55 Rick Rickert

No first-round pick in Wolves history has been ridiculed more than Ebi out of Westbury Christian High School in Texas. The 6-9 Ebi was thought to have the potential to be another preps-to-pros superstar like Kevin Garnett. He was raw but a top-five high school prospect in the same class as LeBron James and Chris Paul. At just 200 pounds and with an underdeveloped game, the Wolves played Ebi just 32 minutes in 17 games his rookie season. His second season, he played 54 minutes in two games, and then he was gone, never to reappear in the NBA. What’s worse, the draft selections immediately after Ebi ended up being solid NBA players. Prep center Kendrick Perkins (No. 27) started for the NBA champion Boston Celtics in 2007-08. Josh Howard (No. 28) became an all-star and later said he was motivated by Ebi being selected ahead of him. Ebi was last seen playing in the Italian league this year. Rickert, a former Gophers star, left college too early and never made an NBA roster.

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